1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to an apparatus and method for hands-free telephony. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for transparent telephony that utilizes, amongst other things, speech-based signaling for initiating and handling calls.
2. Background Information
In conventional telephone communication systems, a protocol consisting of a series of known tasks or operations must be followed by users in order to initiate and establish two-way voice communication. This protocol has traditionally imposed a burden on users of telephony, and especially on those placing or originating an outgoing call.
Typically, when a caller desires to place a telephone call, the caller first must activate the system by lifting a handset at his or her location. After determining the system status by detecting a dial tone, the caller then inputs an arbitrary code (e.g., an individual's telephone number) to specify the desired call recipient. Thereafter, the system status is again monitored by the caller by listening for any one of a number of predetermined tone signals indicating, e.g., ringing, line busy, system busy, or network intercept. Upon receipt and acceptance of the call by the call recipient, the caller then normally introduces him or herself.
Traditional telephony protocol has also imposed significant burdens on the call recipient, albeit to a lesser extent. After a call has been initiated by the caller, the call recipient at the other end hears an anonymous ringing signal. If the call recipient is present and decides to accept the initiated telephone call, the call recipient may establish two-way voice communication over the system by lifting a handset at his or her location and acknowledging receipt by saying something like "hello". Normally, once the calling party has identified him or herself, the call recipient may identify the caller and determine how to further process the call (e.g., converse, take message, terminate call, etc.).
Recently, there have been attempts to simplify the process for initiating and processing telephone calls and, hence, lessen the burdens of traditional telephony protocol. For example, in order to minimize the burden of memorizing and time for inputting a code for specifying a particular call destination, telephone sets have been designed with one-button dialing wherein stored telephone code sequences are recalled and automatically dialed. Further, some telephone companies have begun to offer speed calling services, wherein a call can be initiated by dialing a "shortened" code sequence (comprising, for example, two or three digits) that represents a longer code sequence (comprising, for example, seven to twelve digits) defined by the customer. Still, others have attempted to simplify various tasks of telephony protocol by designing telephone equipment that utilizes speech recognition to interpret voice commands. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,686 to GERSON et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,811 to DUBUS disclose voice dialing systems for mobile radio telephones in vehicles, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,570 to GERSON et al. discloses a method for terminating a telephone call by voice command.
In addition, answering machines have been introduced for automatically answering call attempts and taking messages when the intended call recipient is unavailable. Further, caller identification services and equipment are available for displaying the caller's telephone number at the call recipient's location, so that the caller may be identified prior to acceptance of the call.
However, despite these advances, telephony users are for the most part still burdened by the existing constraints of telephony protocol. Telephony users, in making or receiving a call, still must not only tactilely interact with the telephone system, but also must spend time to interface with the system. Recent and past attempts to address these problems still fail to provide totally hands-free communication wherein users can converse with one another as if they were in the same room, by the use of simple verbal exchanges rather than conventional push-buttons, numbers, beeps, tones and/or rings. Such features would be highly desirable, for example, in an office environment or situations where frequent communications are required.